PICS:Bandh hits India

Samajwadi Party activists hold an effigy representing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his cabinet colleagues before burning it during a protest along railway tracks in Allahabad, India, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Angry opposition workers have disrupted train services as part of a daylong strike in India to protest rising diesel prices and the government's decision to open the country's huge retail market to foreign companies. Placard reads "Take Walmart back."

An Indian shoe polisher waits for customers on an empty sidewalk in New Delhi early on September 20, 2012. Opposition parties and trade unions called for shopkeepers, traders and labourers in India to block railway lines and close markets to protest against reforms, designed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to revive India's slowing economy allowing in foreign retail giants such as Walmart and Tesco.

An Indian resident sleeps in front of closed shops during a nationwide strike in New Delhi early on September 20, 2012. Opposition parties and trade unions called for shopkeepers, traders and labourers in India to block railway lines and close markets to protest against reforms, designed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to revive India's slowing economy allowing in foreign retail giants such as Walmart and Tesco.

An Indian vendor sells fruit in front of closed shops in New Delhi early on September 20, 2012. Opposition parties and trade unions called for shopkeepers, traders and labourers in India to block railway lines and close markets to protest against reforms, designed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to revive India's slowing economy allowing in foreign retail giants such as Walmart and Tesco.

An Indian commuter walks past closed shops during a nationwide strike in New Delhi early on September 20, 2012. Opposition parties and trade unions called for shopkeepers, traders and labourers in India to block railway lines and close markets to protest against reforms, designed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to revive India's slowing economy allowing in foreign retail giants such as Walmart and Tesco.

Samajwadi Party workers burning an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the tracks as they stop a train in Allahabad on September 20, 2012. Opposition parties and trade unions called for shopkeepers, traders and labourers in India to block railway lines and close markets to protest against reforms, designed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to revive India's slowing economy allowing in foreign retail giants such as Walmart and Tesco.

Indian railway policemen try to remove a burning effigy representing the Indian government during a protest along railway tracks in Allahabad, India, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Angry opposition workers have disrupted train services as part of a daylong strike in India to protest rising diesel prices and the government's decision to open the country's huge retail market to foreign companies.

A Samajwadi Party activist shouts slogans during a protest along railway tracks in Allahabad, India, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Angry opposition workers have disrupted train services as part of a daylong strike in India to protest rising diesel prices and the government's decision to open the country's huge retail market to foreign companies. The sign reads "Take Walmart back."

Indian policemen arrive as Samajwadi Party activists block trains during a protest along railway tracks in Allahabad, India, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Angry opposition workers have disrupted train services as part of a daylong strike in India to protest rising diesel prices and the government's decision to open the country's huge retail market to foreign companies.

Demonstrators from the Samajwadi Party, a regional political party, shout slogans after they stopped a passenger train during a protest against price hikes in fuel and foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, near Allahabad railway station September 20, 2012. The signs read, "Roll back the price of diesel", "End the 6-cylinder cap" and "Manmohan Singh leave your seat".

Activists from the opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shout-slogans against Congress-led UPA government during a demonstration in Amritsar on September 20, 2012. Opposition parties and trade unions called for shopkeepers, traders and labourers in India to block railway lines and close markets to protest against reforms, designed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to revive India's slowing economy allowing in foreign retail giants such as Walmart and Tesco.

Activists of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) carry a caricature of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the words the blood suckers are not human beings but devils during a protest at a bus station in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Angry opposition workers have disrupted train services as part of a daylong strike in India to protest rising diesel prices and the government's decision to open the country's huge retail market to foreign companies.

Former Indian cricketer and opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu (C) along with supporters shout-slogans as they carry LPG gas canisters during a demonstration in Amritsar on September 20, 2012. Opposition parties and trade unions called for shopkeepers, traders and labourers in India to block railway lines and close markets to protest against reforms, designed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to revive India's slowing economy allowing in foreign retail giants such as Walmart and Tesco.

Local trade union members display rotis, or Indian bread, during a protest against Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Allahabad, India, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012. A key ally of India's ruling coalition withdrew its support from the government Tuesday to protest recent economic reforms, including a move to open the country's huge retail sector.

Activists of People s Democratic Party shout slogans during a protest in Jammu, India, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012. The protest was against price hike in diesel and capping the number of subsidized cooking gas cylinders at six a year.